Christopher (Tsiakas) of Karpasia

His Grace, the Most Reverend Christoforos (Tsiakas) of Karpasia, is the ruling hierarch of the Bishopric of Karpasia of the Church of Cyprus. Bp. Christoforos is the first bishop of the newly established Bishopric.

Life

Bp. Christoforos was born in the village of Pelendri, in the District of Limassol, Cyprus on May 4, 1964. His elementary education took place in the village of Pelendri and continued in the Gymnasium and Lyceum in the city of Limassol. After his graduation in 1982, he served his military commitment.

After completing his military service in 1984, he entered the Theological Faculty of the University of Athens, graduating in 1988. In 1990, following his graduation, he was ordained a deacon. In 1991, before joining the Monastery of Trooditissa, he was ordained a priest and raised to the dignity of archimandrite. From August 1992 until June 1995, he attended the University of Durham in Great Britain for post-graduate studies in patrology. Upon graduation he received a Master of Arts degree.

Since 1990, he represented the Church of Cyprus in various conferences dealing with heresies and non-religious groups. He has written a number of books on pastoral, spiritual, and anti-heretic subjects, including, in Greek, the Encyclopedic Dictionary: Religions and Heresies, Non-Christian, Non-Religious Groups and Modern Ideological Movements.

On May 22, 2007, Bp. Christoforos was elected by the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus as the first bishop of the newly established Bishopric of Karpasia. Karpasia is located in the northeastern Turkish part of Cyprus. He was consecrated and enthroned on June 3, 2007 by the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II.